Chapter 1321 Formal encounter

The war atmosphere deliberately created by the military is actually the same as the mission Liu Shang is currently performing. The purpose is to calm the people. Of course, after so many coastal defenses and troops have been deployed with so much effort, if something really slips through the net

If you break through the naval blockade and attack the port, these defensive measures will definitely have a certain impact. Not to mention the use of artillery, the thousands of muskets of the coastal defense forces alone are enough to blast a small group of landing enemies into pieces.

There's a hornet's nest.

Liu Shang also saw scenes in war-torn areas when he was in the Ming Dynasty. Once there was news that a war was about to break out somewhere, the first reaction of the people nearby for dozens of miles was to pack up their belongings and flee. Even if their ability was limited and they could not escape very far, at least they had to

Escape to a nearby city first. But he did not see a similar scene in Sanya. Although Haihan officially issued a war warning, the local people did not seem to have any intention of fleeing, let alone flocking outside the Victory Fort to seek help.

Asylum, how to live daily life or how to live.

Regarding the upcoming war, the mood of the people is relatively stable, and it seems that this is just another topic to talk about after dinner. And according to Liu Shang's knowledge, the issue that most people care about is not the outcome of the war, but such as

It will take several days for the Haihan Army to defeat its opponents this time. How many prisoners will eventually be escorted and paraded through the streets of Sanya, etc.

During this period, there were also some well-known business people who sent food, medicine and other supplies to the garrison in the name of the labor force with great fanfare. However, Liu Shang suspected that the statements made by these upper-class people in society were more or less official hints.

and instigation, consciously doing some superficial efforts to stabilize the mood of the local people. Most of those who are worried about the war situation are foreigners or new immigrants who have just arrived in Sanya. These people do not fully understand Haihan's strength.

They would be worried about being affected by the flames of war, and could only relax a little when they saw a large number of Haihan soldiers setting up defenses everywhere in the port area. Therefore, the tough stance taken by the Haihan military in Sanya still played a certain role in stabilizing people's hearts.

On September 17, Tao Donglai and Johnson each led a fleet to leave port to fight the Spanish fleet that was about to arrive in this area. The military and political affairs of Sanya were temporarily taken over by Yan Chujie, Ning Qi and others.

For the Haihan military, this is the first time in recent years that it has carried out a combat mission in its own waters, and its opponent is an established maritime empire like Spain. When the two powers meet, the outcome of this battle will most likely determine the future hegemony of the South China Sea.

Attribution. Although Tao Donglai and others have great confidence in victory, they do not dare to be careless at all. After all, in terms of experience in naval battles, the enemy they face this time may be better than the Haihan Navy. If the opponent is given

If you leave an opportunity to take advantage of it, it will be impossible to achieve a complete victory.

At the same time that the Haihan fleet left the port, the Spanish fleet had arrived on the ocean about a hundred nautical miles southeast of Sanya. After getting rid of the tracking of the Haihan reconnaissance ship, the fleet had been sailing at sea for more than a day, and next

The last leg of the voyage is basically the final sprint stage before launching the attack.

Pinto has put his previous unhappiness behind. Those small sailing ships cannot prevent his fleet from attacking Sanya. As long as he can break through the outer defenses of the port and achieve landing, Pinto believes that he will still have a relatively high degree of confidence in defeating him.

The local garrison and captured the Fort Victory, which is said to contain a large amount of wealth and advanced manufacturing technology.

But unfortunately, his wishful thinking did not come true. After a quiet day at sea, Pinto once again received the news from the observation position on the mast, and found several sail shadows on the distant sea, which seemed to be similar to

It is very similar to the Haihan reconnaissance ship that we encountered before.

Whatever he was afraid of, Pinto hoped that this was just a misjudgment by the lookout, but soon he knew that his luck was really bad. The few sails that appeared on the sea were exactly the same as the ships he had seen the day before.

Small sailing ship.

However, the several ships encountered this time did not seem to have any intention of accompanying them. After confirming the identity of the Spanish fleet a few nautical miles away, they immediately turned around and headed north. At the same time, one of the ships sent a blast straight into the sky.

Flares. Bright orange fireworks slowly rose over the sea, flew into the air and exploded with a bang, leaving a large cloud of orange smoke in the air. In the current sunny weather, at least twenty nautical miles away

Everyone outside can notice the existence of this warning smoke. It is obvious that the opponent is sending warning signals to the rear through such means.

Fortunately, the wind on the sea was strong at this time, and the smoke did not remain in the air for long before it was blown away by the wind. After Pinto saw this scene, instead of panicking because his opponent noticed the movement, he actually

I feel relieved - the opponent who uses this method to report to the rear obviously does not have the magical communication technology that Louis said. The few small sailboats that followed the fleet the day before yesterday were probably just playing tricks. At this time

Even if the news of the Spanish fleet's incoming attack was transmitted back to Sanya through signal flares on the sea, it would probably be difficult for the local area to organize decent defense measures in time.

But Pinto soon realized his omissions. Why did the Haihan reconnaissance ship appear in this sea area? You must know that in order to avoid exposing the route and targets, the Spanish fleet had spent more than a day making a wide circle at sea.

The current route is no longer the original plan. If Haihan sensed any signs in advance and sent out a reconnaissance ship to search the sea, it should be the main target of the sea route when he last encountered the reconnaissance ship. How could he have any spare energy?

Are there so many fast sailing ships deployed in the southern waters?

Is it a coincidence? Of course Pinto had such expectations, but he did not dare to take any chances. After all, the other party was very determined in releasing the flares. It was obvious that they regarded the Spanish fleet as a threat, indicating that the mission of these ships was to guard the sea.

.And this place is at least a hundred nautical miles away from Sanya. How can Haihan's daily maritime defense range be so large? Or is it that the opponent has been wary for a long time and specially made similar moves in all directions in the waters near Sanya?

deployment?

This last possibility is very risky for the Spanish fleet. Pinto is still surprised and uncertain after thinking about it, but several small ships in the distance have already turned back to the north, retreating to a point where the fleet cannot catch up.

distance, obviously there was no intention to put any resistance on the Spanish fleet here.

At this point, there was no room for any thoughts of looking back, so they had to go to Sanya first to find out what was going on. After Pinto briefly exchanged opinions with Louis through flag signals, the two decided to go directly to Sanya. The Haihan people

Whether it was a bluff to raise suspicions or whether they had really been warned and prepared, you will know when you go to the local area.

With an uneasy mood, the Spanish fleet continued to move northwest, but both commanders issued instructions to their subordinates, requiring all ships to enter combat status. Although there is currently no clear sign that Haihan will set up an ambush ahead.

, but the closer to the destination, the stronger the feeling of uneasiness in my heart becomes.

Although the Haihan reconnaissance ship did not take any hostile actions against the Spanish fleet after that, this uneasy mood continued in the fleet for a whole day. Everyone gradually realized that the battle might start at any time, even the most popular

The joking sailor has also shut up. At this juncture, the only thing the crew and sailors can do, besides wiping their swords and guns, is to pray to God for the good luck to survive.

Pinto put on his full equipment after lunch. Although the battle on the ship did not require full-body armor like knights fighting face-to-face, the half-armor and helmet that protected the vital parts of the body still had to be worn to avoid fighting for each other in the melee.

He was injured by stray bullets and explosive fragments. In addition to a knight's sword, he also had a flintlock handgun made by skilled craftsmen in Spain. Although the range is not long, it can still kill enemies in close combat.

A life-saving weapon.

"Let's see how many enemies we can kill with my old friend this time!" Pinto has been fighting all over the world for many years, and he is also a decisive person. Even when facing powerful opponents, his determination remains firm, not because of the previous sea.

He was greatly affected by the repeated appearance of Han ships. He knew very well that his mission on this trip was to inflict heavy damage to Haihan as much as possible. One was to avenge the loss of Taipei's stronghold, and the other was to curb Haihan's rapid development.

situation. When it's time to be cruel, he will never spare anyone with mercy.

That afternoon, everyone in the fleet thought that today was uneventful and the battle would begin tomorrow after arriving in Sanya. A scout ship sailing at the front of the entire fleet hung a conspicuous red flag on the top of the mast, which represented

It turned out that there might be an enemy attack ahead. Pinto and Luis received the warning almost at the same time and immediately ordered the fleet to enter combat mode.

After a flurry of fuss, Pinto saw the shadows of sails appearing on the sea in the distance on the bow deck, heading in the direction of his own fleet. Obviously, this time it would not be like that in the distance again.

The small sailboat slithering around is most likely the legendary Haihan Navy.

As the distance between the two got closer and closer, the red and blue sails hanging on the mast of the sailboat in the distance were clearly visible. It was indeed the fleet from Haihan. Pinto noticed that there were not many ships in the fleet opposite.

There are only a dozen ships, but the size of the hull is not a disadvantage. The largest warship is almost twice the size of his flagship "Valentine". To be able to build such a large warship, this kind of engineering construction

The ability has already reflected Haihan's maritime armed strength from the side. Before setting off, Pinto had also heard various rumors about Haihan's fleet's strong firepower. At the moment, he did not dare to overestimate it, so he still sent out a signal to let the Manila fleet led by Luis and his own

The American fleet under his command separated to the left and right, trying to sandwich the opposite Haihan fleet in the middle for bombardment.

Pinto believes that no matter how powerful the firepower of the Haihan warship is, the ship is still so big and the number of naval guns that can be deployed on the ship cannot be much. The two fleets of his own camp combined have more than 40 combat ships.

The opponent only has more than a dozen ships. If they can attack from both sides and attack from both sides, how can the Haihan fleet withstand such an intensity of bombardment?

Before the fleet set off from Manila, the two commanders conducted repeated exercises on various naval battle tactics that might be used. Therefore, the fleet commanded by Louis also quickly provided cooperation. The two fleets divided one on the left and one in the middle.

He opened a gap of several hundred meters and aimed right at the Haihan fleet approaching in a column.

"The Spaniards think simply. How can they expect us to step into such a big bag?" Tao Donglai had already confirmed the opponent's movements through the telescope and immediately ordered the course to be adjusted.

This Spanish warship is not as fragile as the pirate ships that the Haihan Navy has fought before. Not only does it have a large number of artillery, but it also has a large number of experienced military personnel. Tao Donglai will not rush into the opponent just because the fleet's firepower is strong enough.

He had to fight head-on in the firepower network he had set up. Moreover, the fleet he led had more than half as many ships as his opponents, and the difference in total tonnage was at least one-third, so he did not have much advantage in terms of firepower.

, if we really have to fight head-on, the one who will most likely suffer is the Haihan fleet.

Although Tao Donglai was not from the navy, he had also put a lot of effort into the tactics of sailing battleships, and he had already had a set of tactics in mind. After some adjustments, he saw that the Haihan fleet was about two nautical miles away from the Spanish fleet.

The sea turned left from the southeast route. Judging from the relative speeds of the two sides, the Haihan Fleet was just able to align its broadside with the Manila Fleet and sweep past its bow. If the distance between the two sides was enough,

If it is close, then the ship at the forefront of the Manila fleet will probably receive a full round of broadside bombardment from the Shanghai-Han fleet.

The reaction of the Haihan fleet did not surprise the Spaniards, and it was considered a relatively normal countermeasure. However, Louis noticed that these Haihan battleships were very maneuverable, and the tracks they drew on the sea showed that their turning radius was very

Small, it is obviously better than our own warships, which is not a good sign.

Louis also immediately issued an order, and the Manila fleet also turned in the same direction as the opponent, so that after completing the turn, it could advance parallel to it and not suffer from side firepower. The American fleet led by Pinto also turned accordingly when seeing the situation, and fought for

Bite the tail of the Haihan fleet from behind.

Although the two sides have not fired a single shot, they have already fought for two rounds before the official battle, and they have a preliminary understanding of the enemy's strength.
Chapter completed!